Frontlines-Vista64-SP1-Performace

[n9nu]

I see a lot of people are having problems with this game. I found out that is is very picky when it comes to nVidia drivers. I finally found two that work perfectly.

nVidia Driver: 169.28 - by far the best for me.
nVidia Driver: 169.25 - Either the OEM or NGO optimized one.

Download either from: Guru3d

Download the Frontlines FOW Vista Patch & the game patch itself here: Frontlines FOW 1.01 & Vista Patch Downloads

I did notice a difference after installing the 2 patches. Some users with 64 bit systems that have an X-Fi Extreme Gamer or other X-Fi card were having problems. I was one and was happy this patch fixed the problem.

I was using some of the 17x.xxx series drivers (beta) and would always encounter severe pausing every few seconds.

With my system I can crank ALL settings to the max and maintain 50+ with respect to frame rates.

One thing I noticed however, is the game runs just the same (performance wise) whether I use both GPU's or just one. This goes for my favorite, longest playing game Flight Simulator (I still have the 5 1/4" disks from 1983 when SubLogic turned the game over to MS)

Despite my killer gamepc, I am a bit upset that NO GAME that I have found (Crysis, FSX, etc.) is unable to benefit to any noticeable degree. I purposely went out and bought these 8800 cards to run in SLI only to find zero improvement in any game I have run. I do not have any machines that contain older hardware, so I am sure running SLI with lower end cards and/or CPU's makes a difference. I bought these just for Flight Sim X and was overtaken and gave in to those artist's renditions of FSX and what it will look like when running via DX10. BAH!

It seems a lot of games do SUPPORT multiple GPU & CPU's, however, it also seems developers have yet to include specific code to maximize the benefits from it.

Thus I wait patiently until developers include full support to take advantage of these cards and games.

Happy gaming

Tim

"n9nu" <n9nu.36v5kn@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message
news:n9nu.36v5kn@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...
>
> I see a lot of people are having problems with this game. I found out
> that is is very picky when it comes to nVidia drivers. I finally found
> two that work perfectly.
>
> *nVidia Driver: 169.28* - by far the best for me.
> *nVidia Driver: 169.25* - Either the OEM or NGO optimized one.
>
> Download either from: 'Guru3d' (http://guru3d.com)
>
> Download the Frontlines FOW Vista Patch & the game patch itself here:
> 'Frontlines FOW 1.01 & Vista Patch Downloads'
> (http://www.kaosstudios.com/ffow-patches/retail.shtml)
>
> I did notice a difference after installing the 2 patches. Some users
> with 64 bit systems that have an X-Fi Extreme Gamer or other X-Fi card
> were having problems. I was one and was happy this patch fixed the
> problem.
>
> I was using some of the 17x.xxx series drivers (beta) and would always
> encounter severe pausing every few seconds.
>
> With my system I can crank ALL settings to the max and maintain 50+
> with respect to frame rates.
>
> One thing I noticed however, is the game runs just the same
> (performance wise) whether I use both GPU's or just one. This goes for
> my favorite, longest playing game Flight Simulator (I still have the 5
> 1/4" disks from 1983 when SubLogic turned the game over to MS)
>
> Despite my killer gamepc, I am a bit upset that NO GAME that I have
> found (Crysis, FSX, etc.) is unable to benefit to any noticeable degree.
> I purposely went out and bought these 8800 cards to run in SLI only to
> find zero improvement in any game I have run. I do not have any machines
> that contain older hardware, so I am sure running SLI with lower end
> cards and/or CPU's makes a difference. I bought these just for Flight
> Sim X and was overtaken and gave in to those artist's renditions of FSX
> and what it will look like when running via DX10. BAH!
>
> It seems a lot of games do _SUPPORT_ multiple GPU & CPU's, however, it
> also seems developers have yet to include specific code to maximize the
> benefits from it.
>
> Thus I wait patiently until developers include full support to take
> advantage of these cards and games.

Yup, I know what you mean, I had 2 8800GTX cards in SLI and the lack of
support meant no real increases so I ditched one and put in a Physx card
along side the one I have, job done, and supported games look and play
brilliant.
Frontlines FOW have a 1.2 patch in testing at the moment and due for release
in the next couple of weeks so we shall see.
--
Scotty©

[n9nu]

Well, here it is. Patch version 1.02 has made it's way to the consumers and here are the issues it addresses:

Download Patch 1.02: Here @ Kaos Studios - Patch for DVD release only.

** Attention Users of TryMedia and Steam - Please visit your vendor for the appropriate patch. **



* Crashes when locking the screen during loads has been fixed (i.e. Using Alt+Tab).
* Server browser will no longer show servers that are not running.
* Alt+Tab will work properly in Windows Media Center.
* Lockups/crashes while “Please Wait” popup is on screen has been fixed.
* Player no longer becomes stuck in an unresponsive menu after quitting a match at the end of a round.
* NAT (Network Address Translation) – Listen Server now shows public IP and can be joined.
* Fix for infinite loops that occasionally appear in single player.
* Fix for hang issue/crash for Chinese and Korean native operating systems.
* Game will no longer crash when the user suspends the game using Ctrl+Alt+Del or Win+L on the splash screen after the game launch.
* New .dll’s to address sound card issues added.
* Fixed Japanese character issue on scoreboards.
* Russian fonts fixed.
* Polish, Chinese, and Czech language support added.
* Player count sort fixed on server browser.


I have been reading a lot of responses to this release and most of them have been negative. Not near enough has been addressed and there are some reporting validation/key code errors as well now. Most of the complaints have been in response to "performance" and from what I read above, they did little to address it. The big thing that was or is supposedly fixed is the "audio" issue. The game crashing and stuttering was addressed as well. When I say "performance", I am talking about in game "FPS" type performance (e.g. before 20fps and now 30fps issues). I am in no way complaining as I am happy with the rate and quality I get already. As stated in my original post, I am just waiting for the multi CPU/GPU fix/add on/tweak/enhancements/whatever. LOL

I will write back to include a report on any performance increase as well as other issues noticed

Tim